The Final Apprentice
by TorrentOfIrony
Summary: Arno is 57, and wants nothing to do with the assassins. But when a recruit shows up at his door, is it the right thing to turn her down? Can he manage mentoring one final apprentice? Harper, his new initiate, must struggle with the realities of being an Assassin. Sounds bad, but it's a bit interesting. Rated T for violence, mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys. A lot of u didn't enjoy my last story… Or the one before that. Those were written by my good friend TorrentOfTransparency. She just got her account and hasn't published anything yet. Hopefully, this one will be different.**

――――――――――― **-―**

Arno settled down in his chair and his dog came to rest on his feet. Turning 57 in a few days… Unfortunately, he had no one to celebrate it with. He hadn't married after the death of Elise, and didn't plan on marrying anytime soon. Despite the village bachelorettes sending him poems and love letters… Ugh…

The assassins had tried to get him to come back to the creed, but he'd either returned their letters or sent off their messengers with a few Francs. On one occasion, he had to fight one… Sent the boy home with a black eye, a broken arm, and a bloody nose for his troubles.

France was settling down, and so was he.

―――――――――――-―

Harper checked the address. It was right… A two story manor out in the middle of nowhere. Three miles from the village. Seven potential entrances, a distraction opportunity… No, this was an old man, not some kind of Templar. An ex- _Assassin_ old man, she reminded herself. She wasn't going to knock at 9:00 pm… Instead, she found the nearest tree and pulled her black and white robes over herself like a blanket, setting her traveling bag behind her head.

―――――――――――-―

Arno felt a presence in the garden. He hardly saw the white trim without his eagle vision. Probably another damned messenger. His dog seemed a little unsettled, but Arno calmed him down and retired for the night.

―――――――――――-―

 **I know this was short, even for a prologue, but I really want to start the main story in chapter 1.**

 **Make sure to leave a review!**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	2. A new beginning

**Hi guys! I was grounded for a while plus I was sick.**

 **You know how that is**

 **Without further crap, we continue.**

――――――――――――

Arno woke up, went downstairs, and began to make his breakfast.

Then he remembered his uninvited guest.

He gazed out the window, looking for her in the oak tree. Sure enough, there she was. Still asleep. At 5 in the morning? Arno chuckled.

He went outside, taking care to not make any noise. She was but an initiate, but he was still determined not to underestimate her after the last messenger… The one who put a gunshot in his table.

He climbed the tree, until he was behind her. He always enjoyed giving the new initiates a scare. He extended his hidden blade in front of her throat. It made a clicking noise that gave him away.

"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, INITIATE?"

"I… Please don't kill me!"

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, MISSY!"

"I want to speak to Arno Dorian!"

"Old bastard's been dead for years. Us Templars killed him… And now, we're going to kill you!"

Harper screamed and fell out of the tree. Arno laughed. "Good morning initiate! Give me the message and be on your way."

Harper got up, dusting her robes off. "Rude!" The ignorant man was still laughing his arse off as well…

"I don't have a message! Are you the groundskeeper?"

"…Why would a groundskeeper have a hidden blade?"

"Tom told me! He said there was a groundskeeper who he saw burying alive a lady out here! And he had a hidden blade! And"-

"Tom wears blue robes, does he?"

"…Yes…"

"Always seemed like the lying type. I remember him. He carried the message about the retirement protection of the assassins."

Harper narrowed her eyes. She would say she didn't give a damn and get on with business, but that would be _rude_. "I need to be trained by Arno Dorian."

…

Arno smiled.

It turned into a toothy grin. He laughed.

"But…" Harper was now pissed off.

She marched up to Arno and tried to grab him by the collar, but he swatted her hand off, still laughing.

There was a silence as Arno took a breath.

"Oh. You're not kidding?"

Harper screamed in frustration and kicked the dirt.

Arno now looked a bit confused. "Why'd you want to learn from an old codger like me?"

Harper's expression was neutral. In other words rage cannot be expressed.

"Because I was banned from the damn Boston brotherhood back in America and now I'm OUT OF A JOB AND I NEED. MY. REVENGE!"

"Calm down. Come inside, we can have tea." The girl had come all the way from America to see him.

"I don't want your damn tea."

"…Really?"

"…Fine. I'll drink your da"-

"Stop saying damn, dammit, it's getting annoying."

――――――――――――――

Harper gazed deep into her tea. It was probably poisoned. A creepy old man had lured her in and poisoned her. Sounds pretty adequate. Not a story she'd want on the gravestone, though.

"Are you trying to read the tea leaves? I think you have to drink it all first."

"I'm _analyzing_ it for poison."

"Sounds fun. I want you focus. Really hard."

Harper looked up at him like he was some kind of idiot. _Which he is, of course._ She reminded herself.

She did what he said anyway. Not like she would actually see- OH GOD, SHE SAW THE BULLET HOLE IN THE TABLE THROUGH THE TEA.

Arno laughed at her expression. "I do that whenever I get bored. Pretty fun, huh?"

"I'm done. Kill me right now."

"Are you saying the American assassins didn't teach you that?"

"No! What the… No one even mentioned it!"

"People are losing their eagle vision… Shame. I'm glad you have the gift."

Arno finished his tea, and excused himself to check on his plants in the garden.

"Consider that your first lesson, kid."

"Does this mean you'll mentor me?"

Arno stood in the doorway, thinking about what he just said.

Harper couldn't see how old he was when the sun silhouetted him.

"I'll consider."

――――――――――—――

I'll consider meant no, but always left you in suspense, waiting for the no to finally arrive.

Harper hated 'I'll consider'.

Not even a day spent with Arno and she already hated him. And his laugh more than anything.

He'd sent her to go pick up some groceries from the stores. Regular stuff, food, wine.

She pulled her hold closer to her face while she passed the pub, but there were still wolf whistles.*

"If I had a gun…"

There was a hand on her shoulder, and she was jerked around. "Hey… You're pretty…"

"Classic drunk pickup line. Now get away from me before I shoot you through the forehead."

She walked forward, but another drunk stepped in front of her.

"Wanna get a ride with a _real_ man?"

"I'm not one of your prostitutes. Go away."

"Oh, c'mon. It'll be fun…"

She was on the verge of killing this man. Her extremely short and violent temper was her worst problem.

"Try it…"

"I can make your first time _amazing."_ *

Harper stabbed the man with her pocketknife in the gut.

Civilians scattered, screaming bloody murder.

One of the drunks tried to take a swing but she tripped him up and sent him through a barrel.

Arno showed up out of nowhere, his robes an almost blackish blue.*2

"What are you doing here?"

"This was a test."

"A test on the first day?"

"I don't think you could say it's the first, kid, because you've only been here 14 hours."

Harper looked down at the cracked cobblestones in the road.

"I failed, didn't I? This was where I had to stay my blade from the innocents."

"Nope, I just wanted to see how well you could fight. Those are the local revolutionaries. Of course, they're not here for the revolution anymore, they're just a gang. Bit of a history lesson there."

Harper looked up at him with her "neutral" expression. "You sic'd the local drunks on me."

"Yes, but"-

Harper gave a cry of frustration and kicked one of the drunks.

"Also, when you stabbed the first one in the gut, you should've broke off the handle."

Harper was too tired to give a frustrated scream and kick a drunk again.

Arno picked up a wine bottle out of the broken barrel, and moved the drunk out of the way. He left five Francs at the stall and they walked home in silence.

――――――――――――――

The day had gone by fast, Harper thought as the sun went down.

"I'm assuming you know how to do parkour?"

"Yeah, but I'm a bit rusty. I don't think someone like you could… I mean…"

"You don't think an old codger like me can scale a building?" Arno chuckled to himself.

"When are you going to teach me to kick ass?"

"There's much more to being an assassin than kicking ass. And from what you did to those _poor_ drunks, I would say you already know how to kick ass."

"I mean with swords n' stuff."

"What _do_ they teach you at the American brotherhood?"

"Parkour. We go on reconnaissance missions. The only brotherhood that still teaches initiates _everything_ is the Carolina brotherhood. I was going to get transferred when I got… Banned."

"So how did you get banned?"

Harper was silent. She stared down at the table. He thought he could see a single tear break through the dirt on her face.

"Can we change the subject?"

"Sure."

―――――――――――――――――――

 ***I'm not actually sure if the dialogue in this chapter is rated T!**

 ***** **2** **Arno's robes are the MacFarlane robes. You get these with a DLC, either dead kings or the revolutionary pack, both of which are free now.**

 **It was really good to get this chapter out after writing it. I feel character development going on. May or may not be another chapter out today. If you want to have like, a cameo or something, I can do that. Just pm me.**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	3. Training

**Hi guys! I need a new intro hi guys is stupid. Anyways, I've only gotten good reviews from my readers, which feels really great, but don't be shy to critique!**

 **Because I kind of suck at this and I need tips.**

―――――――――――――――――

Arno woke up at 5, just like every morning. And went downstairs, just like every morning.

And then for the second day in a row felt a jolt as he remembered his houseguest.

"Harper! Time to get up!"

――――――――――――――――――

Harper rolled out of bed and got dressed. She didn't bother combing her hair. It was cut like a boy's and didn't mess up easily.

She took her folded robes off the dresser and was going to put them on when a bit of blue in the closet caught her eye.

She went closer, never having seen this before in the dark of night.

There were beautiful robes, and looked just like Arno's. A little simple, but she liked them.*

She looked back at her dreary and dark Boston Brotherhood Initiate robes. Torn in places. Adorned with patches…

She hoped Arno wouldn't mind her getting those blue ones.

―――――――――――――――――――

Arno was surprised when she came to the garden in the blue robes. They fit her perfectly, and for a moment he thought she was someone else.

His heart pained when he thought of Elise.

"Found these in the closet. My old ones smelled like mothballs. Do you mind if I wear them?"

"Not at all. Plus you asked _after_ you put them on."

Harper looked around at the garden in the morning light. It had wooden targets, dummies, and a little platform on the roof with hay a bit away from it that wasn't there yesterday.

"I didn't see you in the kitchen, so I used my eagle vision and saw you out here."

"Developing skills nicely. But the ones I'm about to teach you will take far longer."

He tossed her a pistol, and she caught it with two hands. It almost dragged her down.

"I assume you know what a gun is?"

"Assuming makes an ass out of you and me. And yes, I know what a gun is."

"I guess they didn't teach you this back in Boston?"

"…No, they didn't."

Arno shook his head. He looked straight at her, then pulled a pistol off his belt and shot off to the side. It was a bullseye.

"No… That's impossible."

Honestly, Harper wasn't that impressed. Arno had shown her so many amazing things she was getting _bored_.

"Now you try."

"Pssht." Harper aimed and fired quickly at the target.

The gun flew over her head and through Arno's window.

"Mmhmm. Maybe something with less recoil."

Arno handed her another pistol.

She fired, and this time she managed to hold onto it at the expense of falling on her butt.

"Maybe something with no kick at all."

Arno went over to a table and picked up a gauntlet. Harper remembered it was the one he'd got the blade out of to scare her with.

"This is a hidden blade."

He flexed his arm, and a small blade shot up.

"The assassin's legacy to the world. Our most ancient and efficient weapon."

He flexed in a different way, and the blade split in two, moved up, and string came out from either side.

"This is the phantom blade."

Another blade extended against the string. Arno fired, and it hit on the bullseye once more.

 _He launched the freaking blade._

Now Harper didn't even express her surprise. "I want one."

She picked up a gauntlet and put it on, flexing her arm in the way to extend the phantom blade.

Arno helped her aim, and guided her wrist to the target.

She fired.

The blade nailed the wooden dummy right in the neck.

"A good kill. Maybe you're ready to move on to the leap of faith."

"Excuse me?"

That sounded very dangerous.

"Do you see the platform on the roof? Climb up there."

Harper looked up at the two story manor's roof. This platform wasn't on the little walkway in the garden, it was all the way up there.

Climbing would be easy. Harper carefully navigated, using footholds and handholds.

"What are you doing?"

"Climbing."

"You're moving like a granny turtle. Let me show you."

A 57 year old was about to scale a building?

"Don't fall!"

Arno chuckled and ran up the wall, grabbing onto the garden walkway's roof and pulling himself up. He then sprinted to the next wall, and began leaping up from the windows. There was a flagpost that he swung on to reach a window just below the roof, where he rolled up.

"Bet they didn't teach you _that_ back in Boston, did they?"

"They told us to look for footholds and never to trust depressions in the rock."

"Pansies…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Leap of faith. Alright."

Harper looked at the hay pile, which was so tiny below.

"I'm gonna die."

"My first time was in a hay _cart._ I kept worrying I was going to hit my head on the wooden part. Start off in a dive. Then flip onto your back to spread out the impact."

The sun was rising now, blinding her.

Harper looked up.

 _Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts._

 _Dear God, please don't let me die._

Harper jumped.

"OHHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDDD!"

Harper almost forgot to go onto her back, and the pain still knocked the wind out of her.

She laughed like a madman.

Arno followed suit, gracefully diving. He got out of the hay almost silently.

"Wanna do it again?"

――――――――――――――――

 **Yeah, this wasn't that good of a chapter. It should be longer, but I want to keep my chapter around 1000 words each. Standards, y'know.**

 **It feels good to get reviews and favorites.**

 **I'm definitely not abandoning this story now.**

 **Almost forgot *Harper's new robes are Arno's fearless robes. Again, you get these in a DLC. I'm giving them their own backstory for later.**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**

 **:)**


	4. A new threat

**Cheers, Mates!**

 **I like that much better than any of my other intros.**

 **At the time I'm writing this, views have reached 147.**

 **My old record of views was four. It feels great to know people are reading my stories.**

 **But of course, you're not here to hear my crap.**

 **You're here to hear my story's crap.**

 **:)**

――――――――――――――――

Arno and Harper were doing a bit of parkour on the rooftops. The trip to Paris had taken a while. It was 7 pm, and they were still training.

Harper was slowly getting the hang of reckless climbing and swinging, and slowly abandoned her slow climbing style.

There was a castle far off in the distance, a landmark Arno knew well.

The Bastille.

They paused for a moment to look at it.

"Feel like taking a look inside?"

Harper looked at Arno like he was a madman. "The hell, Arno? We'll get shot up!"

"Not on my watch."

Arno grinned at her expression. "I run around in there sometimes to practice my fighting and parkour. I don't want to get all rusty."

A fifty seven year old man running around in the Bastille.

"Bullshit."

"Yes, but it's _my_ bullshit."

He had a point. Every piece of bullshit turned out to be true.

"Follow me."

Arno ran along the rooftops and leapt down into the street, behind protestors.

He motioned for Harper to follow him. She decided to jump into a hay cart to smooth out her landing.

She clumsily rolled out… And tripped a guard. A revolutionary.

"I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!"

Arno hopped down into the Bastille's surrounding moat, thinking Harper was behind him.

 _This is it. I'm actually going to die._

One revolutionary was a brute, the other was one of those top hat ones that threw stun grenades.*

She had backed into a wall, still on her butt.

The top hat raised his sword.

Harper moved, but he still grazed her in the waist. She cried out and flailed. A little noise rung out, like some kind of dart.

The top hat had a hidden blade in his head. He fell backwards, blood squirting from his forehead.

She'd shot the hidden blade on accident.

Tears came to her eyes as she remembered…

" _YOU BASTARD!"_

" _I'm sorry ma'am! It was an accident! I swear! No… No please! I have a family! No"-_

 _Harper stabbed him with her pocketknife right in the forehead._

Harper came out of her little flashback to find it was raining. The brute was cowering in the corner.

"Magic! She's a witch!"

Brutes were stupid like that.

Her tears mixed in with the rain. Every time she was reminded of her first kill it broke her spirit.

Arno was waiting at the secret tunnel in the Bastille. Surely Harper would be here by now? It had only been five minutes.

 _Trust your instincts. Take a look._

Arno climbed up the wall, then sprung off and snagged the drawbridge, pulling himself up. Luckily, a few civilians were close up and he blended with them. He had to find Harper. Hopefully the trail hadn't got stale.

He used eagle vision. Everything dimmed. There were little bright bits everywhere. Harper. He sprinted to a wall. Not running into it of course, but finding a trail there. There was a brute there. He was cowering in a corner. Arno grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

He saw the blood.

"She went"-

Arno stabbed him in the throat with the hidden blade just as he was about to speak.

"Fuck!"

"Are you alright, sir?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean…"

Arno ran off, trying to follow the rapidly fading trail.

"I'm lost. I'm actually lost."

What was that horrible stinging in her side?

Harper had been so worried she'd forgotten all about getting grazed by the sword.

The rain was mixing in with her blood, making little slightly red tinted drops with blood swirling around in them.

The streets were almost clear because of the rain. It was getting dark now.

Harper expected the drunks and criminals to come out.

She put her hand around her knife in her pocket.

"No. I'm not killing anyone else today."

There was a tavern/inn in the distance. Maybe she could rest there.

Inside, it was settling down. The guests had gone to their rooms, and the drunks had gone home. Most of them at least.

Harper put her knife on her belt. No one was going to mess with her now.

She saw a few strange looking characters.

At first she ignored them, and it sort of bugged her.

And then again… Arno always taught her to trust her instincts.

She sat on the barstool second nearest to their table.

The bartender was kind of staring at her getup. No doubt she looked pretty weird.

The people all looked somewhat drunk, except the hooded one. Besides the hood, he had a black mask that made him look like he was a faceless man in a hood.

There were seven others at the big table.

The one at the end of the table sitting beside the masked man was in orange silk robes and a purple turban. She was adorned with gold jewelry and had a pouch made of silk encased in chainmail with a gold lock.

The pouch seemed to be slightly glowing.

There was a heavily built man in a black jacket with a machete on his back. Looked like he had a falcon as well. Ugh… It was staring right into her eyes.*

Across from him was a man who was wobbling around like he was drunk. He looked- Harper almost screamed. He was in an _iron mask_ and tan coat. With a spiked club on his back, as well as a rugged looking axe that made a cross of weapons on his back.*2

To the iron mask's left was a very gaunt man. He had a rifle, and an eyepatch. His other eye was a cataract. He looked pretty old. She wondered how that worked.

There was a man who was dressed like an assassin, with tan robes with brown trim. He had a spear with a golden spearhead.

Across from him was a man in a fancy sort of French lieutenant outfit, complete with a bicorn. He looked very handsome.

The last one was in strange looking light armor, made of leather. She looked as if she was Japanese, with a staff and two slightly curved knives on her belt.*3

They were all wearing gold necklaces with crosses on them.

Templar crosses.

The gaunt one was speaking. "I don't care how old he is. He's an assassin. A threat." He had a very menacing British accent.

"He's a retired old man living alone in a manor in the middle of nowhere. I would hardly call it a threat." The lieutenant spoke up.

"I will kill him slow. He will die in agony. A very fine trophy." The Japanese one said. Was that haiku?

"He wouldn't be worth your time, Hikaru." It was the masked man who spoke up. His voice had a Russian accent.

"Tobias will deal with him." The masked man motioned towards the boy in the tan assassin robes.

"Why should we let the rook go after him?" Parrot man said. His was an African accent, very deep.

"My name is Lynx*4, not Tobias. And we were just speaking earlier about how he wasn't a threat, weren't we? How he wasn't worth your time?"

"We have more pressing matters to attend to. This isn't about petty arguments." The turban woman's voice was quiet and calm. Beautiful, you could say.

"Arno Dorian is as good as dead. I'll be back tomorrow. Might just bring one of his bones for Terminus to gnaw on…"

The iron mask nodded wildly. He seemed to be salivating.

Lynx, the tan robed assassin was just leaving.

Suddenly, the doors to the tavern burst open.

Lynx was knocked down.

It was Arno. "Thank god, Harper, I thought you were dead."

The Templars and Arno remained quiet, staring at each other.

"Attaque!" One of the Templars yelled.

Terminus the iron masked man ran forward, taking his spiked club in his left hand and his axe in the right.

Harper got off of her stool and stabbed him in the back with her hidden blade. It didn't seem to do much, but then he stumbled into a table, knocking it over and flipping over it, crashing into a barrel.

Arno grabbed Harper and ran out the door. He fired his phantom blade behind him, and there was the sound of pierced flesh. Whoever it hit, Harper didn't care.

They all looked about the same level of deadly.

Arno finally reached a seemingly safe rooftop. He waited a moment for Harper to catch up, and in about five seconds, she ran beside him.

"We can exchange stories later. Right now, we have pursuers."

He sensed two of them. Lynx and DeFalco.*5

Lynx jumped down from a rooftop above them and drew his spear. DeFalco climbed up the building and drew his machete, his falcon ready to spring.

Arno went for DeFalco, hoping Harper could hold off Lynx for a bit.

Arno's cutlass and DeFalco's machete clashed, sparks flying. Every time Arno and DeFalco locked blades, DeFalco pushed him off with immense strength. He had to stay away from the edge of the roof…

Lynx was very speedy, for a spear wieldier. Harper dodged attacks left and right, stabbing at him every time she got close enough. She always missed… He had the advantage of long range. She had an idea… She backed up, and charged.

It looked like suicide.

Lynx readied his spear to impale her.

The second he struck, she slid under.

She stabbed his right leg with a knife, and when she was behind him, stabbed him in the lower back with her other knife. He groaned, twitching every once in a while.

Arno was being pushed to the edge of the roof. If he took a hand off his blade to try and get Defalco with his hidden blade, he'd surely get pushed off… But maybe…

Arno kept his right hand on the handle of the blade, and took his left hand off the top of the blade, where the blades were touching. His was horizontal.

Arno moved right, but kept his blade in front of DeFalco. Defalco didn't expect this and pushed Arno's sword away, jerking forward almost off the edge of the roof. Arno used the momentum for a roundhouse to the back of the head.

Defalco fell into a hay pile, unfortunately, but the kick still knocked him out. Arno motioned for Harper to follow him and they ran across the city to the stagecoach.

"We need to get to St. Denis*6. I have to muster our defenses…"

Harper had her phantom blade ready to shoot anyone who attacked them.

"That Lynx guy sure was tough."

"His technique is to keep people at a distance so he can get them while they're weak. I should know. I trained him."

"Will you _please_ tell me things before they're right up in my face?!"

"What do you want to know?"

"I want to know about these robes I'm wearing. You looked horrible when you saw them."

"… Alright, but you have to tell me why you got banned from the Boston Brotherhood."

"…Deal."  
 **Spoiler alert. Obviously.**

"This is a story from when I was in my mid-twenties, back when I was still an assassin. I was in love with a certain… Templar. Named Elise."

Harper was intrigued.

"Elise and I had been friends since childhood. I was wrongly accused for her father's murder. Elise knew it. And I was locked up in the Bastille for it. Then I found out I could've prevented it."

"Elise and I stopped talking to each other for quite a while. But we reunited after we saw a common goal. And to celebrate our Unity, I had those robes made."

"Elise was killed just two days after the robes were crafted."

"…Oh." Was Harper's response.

"Now tell me your story, Harper."

Harper looked around to make sure no one was following her as she remembered that day and put it into words.

―――――――――――――――――――――

" _Clarence! Wait up!"_

 _Harper and her African friend Clarence ran along the street, pursuing a thief. He'd just stolen from Harper's pockets, and the two initiates had abandoned their reconnaissance mission to get him._

 _Clarence finally got him sneaking under a scaffold, and put him in a full nelson._

" _Get the money while he's pinned!"_

 _Harper ran forward to the scaffold, but before she could reach it, she noticed the man carrying a heavy sack that looked to be of bricks on the roof._

 _He was struggling to lift it, and put it down for a moment to rest._

 _It was too close to the edge. It fell onto the scaffolding, collapsing it, and burying Clarence and the thief under a ton of wood and bricks._

 _Harper dug into the wood until she found Clarence's hand._

 _It had no pulse._

 _Harper fell to her knees and sobbed. The man who dropped the sack ran to her side and tried to comfort her._

 _Her sadness slowly turned to unbridled hate and fury._

 _She stood up, pocketknife in hand._

" _YOU BASTARD!"_

" _I'm sorry ma'am! It was an accident! I swear! No… No please! I have a family! No"-_

 _Harper stabbed him with her pocketknife right in the forehead._

―—――――――――――――――

" _Harper Claire Gideon, the court has a unanimous vote. You are exiled from the Boston Brotherhood in accordance with breaking our tenants and killing an innocent."_

" _That innocent killed my friend"-_

" _He killed Clarence accidentally. Leave our sight."_

――――――――――――――――――

 **I hoped you enjoyed this 2000+ word chapter. Spent all morning writing it just for you :).**

 **We have a crapton of apostrophes to deal with.**

 ***The black jacket machete guy is the guy from black flags multiplayer. He was my favorite, I think he had a yellow du rag. And for some reason I keep imagining shades on him but this is like 1800's type deal.**

 ***2 this is the iron mask skin. I called him Terminus. His 'rugged axe' is the tanner's axe from unity dead kings dlc.**

 ***3 I didn't want Hikaru to be cliché, so I scrapped the katana idea.**

 ***4 I was going to make his name Lynx in French, but it was the same with French and English.**

 ***5 Anyone remember DeFalco from black ops 2? I swear, I almost got him that mission… I know there's a bio for the machete guy, but I lent Black Flags to a friend and I thought that name was cool anyways.**

 ***6 St. Denis is the city in which Dead Kings takes place, according to the wiki. I know this is unreliable, and I was gonna but Franicade but I didn't know how to spell it right.**

 **Thank you guys for your support. I'll try to keep a chapter a day schedule going.**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	5. First Blood

**Cheers, mates!**

 **The first week of summer is over, and we are on chapter 5.**

 **I think the story is progressing nicely.**

 **I don't really have much to say. :T**

 **Thanks to ayan8901, TheProficientPenman, and Darou Dogaroo for reviewing so far. Means a lot to me.**

――――――――――――—

"We need to get to St. Denis. I have to muster our defenses…"

Harper had her phantom blade ready to shoot anyone who attacked them.

 **1 MONTH LATER**

Harper and Arno circled each other in the arena.

As they stopped for a moment and darted forward, blades clashed at incredible speeds and sparks flew. Arno had taught her to circle, stop, and wait with defensive opponents.

That scared the crap out of whoever you were fighting.

Harper saw the weak spot in Arno's defense. Since he was more a one handed swordsman, if she went for his legs, there wasn't a block for that.

She tried not to look. Looking gave you away.

This time, immediately after the last flurry of blows, Harper ran forward and slashed the legs. "4-3. I win."

"Yep."

"That's it? No congratulations on beating your mentor Harper? Congratulations on your first victory?"

"Yep…"

"Why so sad?"

"This means you're almost ready to go out into the world. Without me."

"…Oh."

Harper looked down.

Arno walked over and put an arm around her with a smile on his face. "I still have to teach you _lots_ of stuff though."

Harper walked forward, contemplating things. "It's been at most a month now. Why hasn't Lynx attacked?"

"I thought you killed him on that rooftop?"

"No, those were flesh wounds. At least, I hope so." She shivered. They walked to the stagecoach, preparing it to go to the town of Franicade.

"Think about it this way," Arno said, bridling the horses, "We fight Templars, correct? This means that they're our enemies. And they kill us. For every one Templar you kill? You save about five assassins. That's what helped me get over my kills."

Harper let that sink in. She still was a bit messed up about it. "So did you accept the protection thing? From the assassins?"

"No."

"I spoke to Tom again today. He said he saw the gatekeeper with a longsword this time."

"Tom's a liar…"

"He let me stay with him when I first came to France. I guess he's ok."

Arno hesitated before speaking.

"I've been thinking about uh… Sending you to the Paris Brotherhood for a while?"

"No."

"It'll be just until this Templar thing clears up."

"…Bullcrap. I have to be here to save your ass."

"Harper, please. I don't want to have to worry about you as well."

"I'm almost ready to fight. You said so yourself."

"I said you were a while away from getting out on your own."

"Assassins don't go out on their own. They're like a wolfpack."

"Yeah, but you're _my_ apprentice, which makes you a lone wolf. Like me."

That was the first time he'd actually called her his apprentice.

"There's something up ahead. Stay here."

Arno stopped the cart.

He sure was a lone wolf.

Arno had something special today.

It was a gift given to him by his friend Leon.*

He called it "The French Baguette"*2.

In other words, the guillotine gun.

Whatever was up ahead had evaded his eagle vision, he couldn't see them anymore.

Or they'd ran from the area in search of something else.

With a jolt, he realized his mistake.

"HARPER! RUN!"

He didn't know which way to go. The fog that enveloped the city of St. Denis obscured his vision.

――—

Harper heard a yell up ahead. Arno?

She jumped off the cart, drawing her cup sword.

She couldn't lose another friend…

"Harper…"

"We can see you."

She stopped.

"Who's there?! I'll kill you!"

"It's your old friend Lynx."

She was pushed to the ground from behind. She rolled over, aiming her phantom blade. It was the gaunt man with the eyepatch and the cataract. Thomas, Arno had called him.

The rifle was aimed at her head. Lynx loomed over her from behind.

"Hello, Harper. I've decided to repay you for messing up my back last month."

He circled her, spear drawn.

"Of course, your life is much less important than my back. You're not fully repaying me."

He stopped for a moment and thought.

"Ah! Yes, I'll send your head back to Arno."

He leaned into her face. "Give the old man a heart attack. I don't even have to get my hands dirty."

He kept circling.

She formulated a plan.

Once he walked in front of Thomas, Harper kicked him, springing up. He fell back into Thomas, who was knocked over. His rifle fell out of his hand. Harper scooped it up.

"Move and I'll take your fucking head off."

Lynx began to laugh. "You can't shoot a _pistol_! You've got some old hidden blade and a sword! You can't shoot those, can you?"

So he didn't know about the phantom blade. Good…

――—

Arno ran through the fog, hoping Harper had been taught well enough.

Had to get to her, had to-

"Unh!"

Arno was kicked in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping for air. A black robed man in a black mask shaped like a skull looked down on him, sword drawn.

"What? Don't have your lackeys with you?"

"I don't need them to deal with a decrepit old man."

Arno held his guillotine gun like a spear, hoping the blade on the end was sharp having been put away for so long.

They circled each other. The first strike was made by the Grandmaster.

He went with a downward slash, two handed.

Arno blocked it with his gun. Before he could even think about kicking, he was kicked in the chest, sent sprawling backwards by the incredible force.

"Do you have any preference on where you want to be stabbed?"

"Do you have any preference on where you want me to shoot you?"

Arno got up. The Grandmaster was toying with him. He was too old for toys.

Arno started swinging the guillotine gun, once grazing the Grandmaster with the blade. One good hit and he could knock a leg off.

The Grandmaster began to not only dodge, but swipe at Arno's limbs. They were only grazes at first, but as the fight went on they intensified.

Arno needed help. And fast.

―――――—―

Harper had to do something. She couldn't keep them like this forever.

She pretended like she was going to shoot, then ran as fast as she could. The fog would be _her_ ally this time.

Had to find Arno before it was too late.

If he died, she was alone.

There was no one left.

And she really would be a lone wolf.

No more two man wolfpack.

She heard clanging to her right. And the tearing of flesh.

She sprinted right, making sure the rifle was reloaded. The bayonet would help as well.

The fog began to clear. Arno was on the ground, breathing heavily, heaving maimed as well. She recognized the Grandmaster by his completely black rapier.

She had the advantage of being behind.

She stabbed him with the bayonet, flesh tearing. He gave a cry of agony. She fired.

He screamed in pain, falling to the ground. How was he still alive?

She saw glowing not too far off. It penetrated the fog like a bullet through flesh.

It was the turban woman, Shadria. Harper was reloading. Shadria made not move to stop her. She walked calmly to the grandmaster, and pulled something out of her glowing bag.

It was gold, with little lines and circles on it where light came out.

"The apple… How…"

Arno muttered, trying to stand.

Shadria touched it to the Grandmaster, and it healed him. Then she took out a knife and cut open his robes. Cotton fell out, as well as a golden plate just like the apple she was using.

It had a hole in it that was oozing light like blood. She took it out and put a new one in. She then touched the apple to his robe, which mended. He seemed to be healing. She helped him off.

No one could do anything. Harper was reloading. Arno was injured.

Lynx came from out of the fog. Harper looked behind, hearing footsteps. DeFalco and Thomas. They were running towards her from a distance.

"Harper! Duck!" Arno called out.

She did, just as Lynx fired, the bullet grazing her hood, leaving a gray trail of gunpowder.

She heard the bullet hit its mark behind her. DeFalco doubled over and rolled, clutching his arm.

Lynx gritted his teeth. He reloaded as fast as possible.

"Harper! Fire!" Arno called out again.

"But I can't shoot!"

"Just do it!"

She did. The bullet went way over Lynx's head, and the recoil sent Harper's rifle back.

There was an ever so sickening crack as the rifle shattered Thomas' skull.

Arno got up.

Instantly, Harper ran into his arms.

"It's ok…"

He said, holding her close.

 _Kill one, save five. Kill one, save five._

―――――――――

 **Thomas is dead! Yay!**

 **That actually kind of sucks I wanted to show off his trickshot skills. XD**

 **I know, that wasn't funny.**

 **Just last chapter I said one a day… I almost broke it today.**

 **I'm not actually sure though. I might have uploaded 4 this morning or last night. :T**

 **You guys remember the thing with Tom? In chapter 1? Where they talked about how he was a liar?**

 **I realized that wasn't possible since Harper was from America and didn't know anyone in France.**

 **So I made Tom an initiate who allowed her to stay with him until she met Arno. Close save.**

 **Asterisks**

 ***Leon is that kid from Dead Kings that made me freaking run around for hours trying to solve that puzzle chasing him. I freaking hate him. Bastard. :[**

 ***2 I nicknames the guillotine gun the French Baguette because of a Pewdiepie quote. It was in happy wheels. He was playing as effective shopper, and everything fell out of his cart but the baguette. He said "all I have left is my French Baguette." He said it like "FrenchBaguette". I thought it was funny and it stuck with me.**

 **You probably think I'm weird now.**

 **That's cool.**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	6. The Wolfpack

**HI!**

…

 **Alright then.**

 **Remember, don't be afraid to review! I don't care if it's critique, complaints, complements, or crap.**

 **My keyboard keeps freezing up and crashing my surface. My chapters keep getting lost ]:[**

―――――—

On the stagecoach ride back, Harper threw up five times, fainted twice, and almost fell off once.

 _Kill one, save five. Kill one save five._

She hoped that was true, and not more of Arno's bullshit.

Most of Arno's bullshit was true, anyway.

He had so much explaining to do.

What was that little plate in the Grandmaster's robes?

How did it stop him from being killed?

What was "the apple"?

How was he Lynx's mentor?

What was in Shadria's bag?

"You said a while back you'd explain everything to me." Harper said, weakly.

"Ask away." Arno said, making the horses go a bit faster.

"What's the apple?"

"You're a Christian, right?"

"I was raised Catholic. What's it to you?"

"You've heard of the apple of Eden?"

"Yeah."

"It's first civilization technology. One of the most powerful ones. That plate was first civilization as well. Those artifacts are very powerful, Harper. You saw this firsthand when you blasted the Grandmaster and he lived."

Arno stared blankly ahead, contemplating things.

"And now, they've fallen into the wrong hands."

"Do you have one?"

"I used to. It was a sword. When I realized how powerful it was, even when it was broken, I vowed to never use it again. Once it was stolen, and when I got it back I realized we humans shouldn't have power like that. I went to the underground chambers, put it in a tunnel, and then blew the tunnel up."

"What's up with you being Lynx's mentor?"

"Lynx was an assassin back when I was still in the Paris Brotherhood. They invited me back when I was in my thirties*, and I politely declined. However, when I found out they needed me to mentor the child of my two deceased friends, I accepted. His name was Cedric Tobias. He didn't like us calling him Tobias though. He was angry at his parents for leaving him like that. We called him Cedric, but then he didn't even like that. He told us to call him Lynx."

Arno looked on in sadness.

"Eventually, he found that his goals aligned with that of the Templar Order. To keep everyone safe. Locked up, but safe. I hate to see what's become of him."

"…Oh."

―――—

For Harper, being an Assassin was no longer a grand adventure. It was a real struggle that depended on the fate of the world.

Arno began to teach her unarmed combat in the event that she was disarmed. He also taught her aerial assassinations, double assassinations, and hiding spot assassinations.

They sparred for hours a day, Harper honing her skills and Arno scraping off the rust.

The next time the Templars attacked, they would be ready.

Harper was no longer afraid to kill. She would kill criminals and murderers in the streets. Revolutionaries who picked a fight with her. She was like a vigilante now. She tried to stay out of the way of the guards, but every once in a while she would have to face them.

During dinner, Arno and Harper talked over her leaving Arno for the Paris Brotherhood. She of course complained, as she was around Arno's skill level now. But he had a point; if she left, he wouldn't have to worry about her as well as himself.

It was the day after that they learned the Paris Brotherhood had been destroyed.

The whole place was flooded with revolutionaries and Templars who massacred most everyone.

There was a little under a half that escaped. Mainly experienced assassins and their apprentices, and a few initiates.

And of course, they all came to Arno to seek help. The lone wolf had become the alpha male of a wolfpack.

Harper convinced him to take in refugees at the cost of having to share a room with three other assassins.

There were more initiates to be trained and more work to do, but now there was assassins to help Arno do it.

And Harper could finally feel useful.

She even got to that point where she could go out on her own, start her own brotherhood.

She would never leave Arno, though.

She'd follow him to hell and back if she had to.

―――—

"Don't be afraid! You're going to land in hay!"

Harper paced along the line of initiates, teaching them the leap of faith.

After they got out the hay, they were to climb back up again and get in line again.

A few times she had to push and hope they would land on the hay.

—-—-

Harper sparred and beat the other assassins.

Technically, she was one now, since she was teaching initiates.

She was still Arno's apprentice, however.

There was an initiate named Harold who had never gotten over Harper beating him in the arena. He constantly boasted about how he was better than her, and she had to shut him up by kicking his ass.

His mentor Reginald was a bastard as well. She kicked his ass and it shut Harold up for good.

They were cross to her, though. And they wanted a 2 on 1 fight in the arena.

Harper obliged.

The garden was full of spectators, mainly initiates who were betting Francs on Reginald and Harold. Harper was only one person.

But she was going to make sure she kicked their asses anyway.

The bell rung and Harold ran forward, brandishing a batteaxe.

They'd agreed they should use their regular weapons, and wear heavy armor. Still, Harper thought a batteaxe was messed up.

It wouldn't slice off her head.

It would knock it off, much more painfully.

Harold received a stab in the shin for his foolishness and Harper followed it up with a slash and a kick to the chest. Reginald had used his time wisely, sneaking behind her.

His long sword was about to smash her head in.

She moved to the side, and Reginald's long sword got stuck in the ground. Harper slashed him in the side then kicked him from the back. He staggered forward and tripled over his blade.

Harold was up, and waiting for Reginald to regroup. Wait, where was Reginald?

In a flash, Reginald had her arms pinned behind her back. He pushed her to the ground and held her down with his boot on her back.

Harold raised his axe.

 _THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO MURDER ME!_

Suddenly, someone grabbed Harold's battleaxe from behind and hit him with the butt end of it.

It was Wilhelm, one of the assassins. "You know you can't use battleaxes in sparring!"

He was yelling at Reginald. He should've known better.

Harold grabbed his axe from Wilhelm and took a swing at Harper, but this time he was stabbed in the chest by a spear.

A spear with a golden tip.

Lynx's spear.

The tan robed boy took the spear out of Harold from his back, leaving a complete hole in Harold. He ran off. There were no pursuers.

Harold was dead. The initiates panicked but Wilhelm calmed them down with a stern voice.

Harper was in shock. An initiate and his mentor had just tried to kill her. Lynx, the Templar, had saved her.

Reginald punched Wilhelm, grabbed the axe, and raised it. "THIS IS FOR MY HONOR!"

A spear sailed through the air behind Reginald. Wilhelm tackled Harper out of the way just as the spear went through Reginald, and into the spot where she'd just been.

"Go and get the Grandmaster- I mean Arno!" Wilhelm took charge, ordering initiates around. His blue and red robes swirled in a flurry as he rushed around.

The spear with the golden tip had saved her again. And while no one was looking, Lynx ran out from behind a bush. He gave Harper a cold stare. He then sprinted off.

―—

 **And that just happened.**

 **I've got some plans for Harper and Lynx…**

 **No, not like that! This is rated T!**

 **Let's keep it PG, mates.**

 **I forgot to do that asterisk in chapter four where I was talking about the top hat guys.**

 **You know those guys that throw stun grenades and roll when you try to get them on the ground?**

 **I don't think I put any asterisks in here this time, just checked.**

 **Lynx's spear is the spear of St. Denis. At least I think that's what it's called.**

 **His robes are the legendary brigand ones, as well as the hood and everything else.**

 **And the color is Mocha something.**

 **That sounds ridiculous. I swear it's a color in the game.**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	7. An Unlikely Friend

**My friend convinced me to watch children of the corn (The 1985 version)**

 **A word of advice if you aren't planning on killing yourself afterwards don't watch it :O**

—

Harper approached the run down building.

She wasn't comfortable with this meeting.

But it was for Arno.

Maybe if she talked right, paid enough, they'd not kill him.

And if they tried anything funny there was a Guillotine gun on her back under her robes.

No one would be around to hear her screams.

She opened the door, sword drawn. No one was there.

So she was going to be killed.

Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She spun around and instinctively attacked.

Whoever it was leaned backwards on the spot, grabbing the arm and jerking the sword out.

"You should take care what you do at a negotiation."

She recognized that voice all too well. Lynx.

"I didn't see you," She said, jerking her arm from his. "I assumed you would kill me."

"I've brought no one with me."

Lynx took off his hood, revealing tan skin and curly brown hair.

Harper backed away a bit.

Lynx nodded to her, as if expecting her to take off her hood. Like hell.

"I've come here to negotiate fifty francs for you to spare Arno's life."

"Fifty francs? What's that, your allowance?"

"I'm 23, thank you very much." She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him on the wall, which exploded in dust.

"Don't give me your bullshit. This is about life and death." She took one hand off his collar and held the hidden blade near his face.

"First off, I've got some questions for you to answer." She said, releasing him.

"I saved your life because I'm after Arno, not his apprentice."

"…How"-

"Isn't it obvious? You didn't kill me when we were fighting with DeFalco and now I don't owe you anymore."

"I feel like there's more to it than that. You know how many opportunities you had to kill Arno when you ambushed our cart in the fog?"

"…Maybe three."

"No, at least five."

Lynx walked over to the window to make sure no one was listening in. "So Arno really hasn't told you…"

"Told me what?"

"It's probably best you don't hear it from me."

She spun him around. "I"-

"You'll kill me if I don't tell you. But not really."

He pushed Harper's arms up and over his head, then slid out from the side.

"If you're going to be like that then back up your words with actions. Stab em' in the arm or something."

She did.

"Ow! I didn't mean me!"

"Stop fucking around! This is a negotiation not a…"

Lynx sighed. "Listen, if I don't tell you here you'll probably stab me again and this time kill me."

Harper listened patiently.

"I'm not your enemy."

"…So?"

"I mean I'm a double agent. I work with you."

"A spy?"

"Pssht. That's a way of putting it mildly. I filter information to the Paris Brotherhood."

"So there's really no reason to have this talk is there?"

"…No actually."

Harper narrowed her eyes. "Arno would've told me."

Lynx loomed over her. "With a mouth like yours I'm not surprised he didn't." He said coldly, clutching his arm wound.

Harper put a hand on her sword. "Prove it."

"…Fine." Lynx thought for a moment.

"I'll kill my least favorite Templar and send you his head.

"My mother used to work in wax sculptures. I know a fake head when I see one."

"Ugh… Fine. Follow me."

He darted out of the building and sprinted down the street.

Harper could barely keep up, and considered taking a shortcut… But she didn't know Paris that well.

Lynx saw some kind of pulley, cut the rope with a knife, grabbed the rope, and soared up onto a roof. The falling box almost crushed Harper.

She went up to a pulley, grabbed the rope tightly, and cut it with her hidden blade.

The wind rushed past her, and she almost forgot to let go.

However, her gauntlet with her hidden blade wasn't so lucky. It got caught on the ropes and was yanked off, then detached and flew off over the rooftops behind her.

She landed on a terrace with guns, probably a soldier guarded roof. It was in the rich district after all.

"Fuck!" She kicked a pipe on the terrace, hoping it wouldn't make noise. Now she had no projectile weapon.

Lynx was on the roof opposite her. They were overlooking a large parade, with French flags and blue carriages.

The Templar target was on a carriage, two soldiers behind him carrying rifles. He was the handsome one looking like an officer.

Lynx was waving his arms frantically, and pointing at a barrel behind her.

She went over to it and felt its weight; somewhat heavy. She looked inside. It was filled with gunpowder.

The Templar's carriage was drawing close.

Lynx was making a sort of motion, pointing at the barrel and then the carriage.

She pondered this for a moment, then knew what he was trying to say.

Throw the barrel at the carriage.

She picked up the small barrel and went over to the edge of the roof.

The parade was taking place in a large area, not on the small streets. Civilians wouldn't get hurt if she threw it far enough.

The carriage was getting close.

She raised it over her head.

It was almost there…

She threw.

The small red barrel sailed through the air at the Templar. One of the soldiers saw it first and intercepted it. It hit him hard, and he fell off the carriage.

As he recovered, he realized what it was and threw it away. It rolled under the carriage, but was still in view.

The civilians began to murmur as the carriage stopped, and the other soldier inspected the barrel. The Templar remained up on top of the carriage, barking orders to the soldiers.

The inspecting soldier suddenly screamed and ran.

Lynx was aiming his gun at the barrel, two hands on the grip.

He fired.

The explosion lit up the sky, and the carriage was flung and rolled. The Templar was launched up into the air, and then fell onto the ground, rolling far.

The soldiers began firing at Lynx, and he scattered back to Harper. "GO!"

He darted to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her along.

They leapt across rooftops, pursued by the carriages and even some soldiers on horseback.

There were soldiers up ahead on the roof, aiming their guns at them. Lynx slid onto his side, pulling Harper with him. The bullets whizzed over them, and they jumped off the roof into the streets.

They were in an alley, and about to run out when a carriage pulled up at the exit. The doors opened and soldiers pointed their rifles out. Soldiers on the sides aimed their pistols. The driver was pointing right at Lynx.

Lynx pushed Harper out of the way and behind cover as he was shot up.

Harper watched in shock as blood spattered the walls behind him and he fell to his knees, then onto his side.

"Two of you stay here! We have to find the other one!" So they hadn't seen her.

She ran out and killed one with her sword, then spinning around to her right, ducking under the other one's slash, and stabbed him.

She ran to Lynx, sliding down to him.

He'd taken the shots for her.

And now he was gone.

She felt little sadness, as he was on the opposing side most of the time.

But he'd gotten shot up for her…

He stirred, groaning. "I'm still here…"

She considered finishing him off just to be safe.

But what if he really was an Assassin?

He'd killed that Templar…

She reluctantly lifted him up and partially carried, partially walked, and partially dragged him out the alley, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

She put him behind an abandoned carriage and handed him her medicine bag.

She heard heavy footsteps and the sound of someone dragging something made of metal.

She used eagle vision, and saw the outline of the Templar they'd blown up. His hair was mostly scorched off, and his hat was ragged. His tattered outfit spattered with blood.

She took a peek around the cart. His face was covered in blood to the point where you couldn't see half of it, and he was dragging a mortar.

"FUCK!"

Harper dragged Lynx back into the alley, throwing him the med back once again. He was fumbling around, trying to get the bandages out.

She was running to the carriage as it literally got blown away. She was thrown backwards, thankful she wasn't near enough to get hurt.

She ran out into the open, trying to get into a building and sneak past the once handsome man.

The mortar fired and the doorway she'd just ran through collapsed. She ran through the building and onto a balcony.

The mortar fired again and the balcony crashed down, crushing several unmanned carriages parked below, the horses running wild.

One of them knocked down the Templar's mortar and he had to set it up again. Harper ran onto a ledge and along the building, about to shoot him with her hidden blade.

Then she remembered; she didn't have one anymore.

The mortar fired, and she jumped down. She was thrown right into him, knocking him over. Harper rolled away, the hem of her robe on fire.

She panicked and slashed it off with her sword, then stomping on it.

The Templar had already gotten up and fired. The mortar went over her head and up to the second story of a building, exploding and sending rubble down into the street behind Harper.

She ran forward, right into a clothesline by the Templar. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

He pinned her right arm and raised his sword.

Her left arm was unpinned, because he couldn't pin and raise the sword at the same time.

She grabbed his arm, and extended her one remaining hidden blade.

He shrieked and tried to move his sword closer, but his weakened arm slowed him down.

She wasn't strong enough to keep him off for long.

The sword was inches away from her throat…

Lynx pulled him off and stabbed him in the throat with a familiar looking hidden blade.

He collapsed.

Harper limped over to him, her foot sprained from the rubble.

He waved her old phantom blade gauntlet around weakly. "Look what I found…"

A carriage stopped by them, a bright green robed Initiate, Alexander, motioned for them to get in. Without Lynx's signature golden spear, he wouldn't recognize him.

Harper pulled Lynx inside and shut the door behind them. Alexander whipped the horses and they dashed off through the empty streets.

She'd heard he was a private carriage driver before an initiate, and was living up to his reputations.

"I saw you leave and tailed you from the manor. What are you doing here?"

"I was helping an old friend. He needs medical care. Get to the manor, quickly."

She looked back at Lynx. What if he was lying? And this was just a plan to get closer to Arno?

But he took bullets for her, then saved her life.

Maybe Templars were in a Russian roulette, and they killed each other to get the competition out of the way?

Harper didn't sleep a wink on the way back to the manor.

―—

 **I'm sorry this chapter wasn't out Sunday.**

 **It was a very busy day and today I had a guitar recital.**

 **My dad came in my room while I was writing this and screamed "OUTLANDERS!"**

 **I'll never use the word harvest again 0.0**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	8. Author's Note

**Cheers! I'm on vacation right now, that's why there hasn't been many posts.**

 **That's not the only thing I'd like to say, though.**

 **I know my chapters are short. One thousand words each.**

 **The average chapter is about 3000.**

 **I won't change that in this story, but you can expect my later fanfictions to have at least 2000.**

 **My hotel doesn't have Wi-Fi, so you'll be getting this whenever I'm back.**

 **However, don't expect another chapter today, because I have a bit of a busy schedule that I'm not going to go into.**

 **I'll see what I can do. Chapter or not, thanks for reading.**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	9. Rebel

**Today is a busy week.**

 **Today I'm going the dentist and on Thursday I'll be on vacation but I'll try to get a chapter in. Hopefully the hotel has Wi-Fi so I can post it.**

 **If not, sorry in advance, and I'll post as soon as possible.**

—

Harper paced outside the medical room, wondering why she hadn't got any answers yet.

She hadn't had time to speak with Arno or anyone else, and no one else was out in the hallway.

Word had spread fast, though, and when the carriage arrived, everyone gathered. But when they saw one of their number was wounded, they respectfully left her alone.

Arno approached her, an angry look on his face. "I thought I could trust you."

"I thought _you_ could trust _me_." Harper countered, walking forward, and even angrier look on her face.

Arno backed up a bit.

"Lynx was a spy and you didn't tell me?"

"Now Harper, I"-

"You thought I would go around blubbering about Lynx being a spy. After two months?!"

Arno was trying to calm her down.

"No, just shut up, Arno! Nothing you can say can redeem you!"

She paced, Arno left speechless.

"I'm ready to kill Templars. I thought you knew that after I saved your life."

He owed her after the ambush on the road to the village.

"You're just a blind old man. Too blind to see that."

Now, she was cashing in.

"When Lynx is healed I'm taking a group of assassins to kill DeFalco. You're either with me or against me."

She stormed off to her room.

It was empty, the three Initiates she shared her room with probably out practicing.

She pulled a list of names out from under her bed.

 _Lynx_

 _DeFalco_

 _Thomas_

 _Henri_

 _Shadria_

 _Terminus_

 _Hikaru_

 _The Grandmaster_

She crossed out the name of the handsome Templar, and then hesitated over Lynx's name.

Should she?

She crossed it out along with Henri.

 _Lynx_

 _DeFalco_

 _Thomas_

 _Henri_

 _Shadria_

 _Terminus_

 _Hikaru_

 _The Grandmaster_

DeFalco was next on her list. He would've gone after Lynx's death but things had gone a bit out of whack.

A mild way of putting it.

He would die soon enough.

And then Arno would finally acknowledge that she was his equal…

—

Arno was beginning to see corruption in his apprentice.

Just like poor Cedric Tobias… Driven away from his apprenticeship from anger towards the brotherhood letting his parents die…

At least he remained loyal from a distance…

Arno looked towards Lynx's room.

He couldn't let this injured boy go into battle.

He formulated a plan.

He would tail them to the Bastille, where DeFalco was, hiding from the Assassins.

No, he would get there before them, and then he would present DeFalco's body to them indirectly.

Perhaps hang it by a rope at the entrance?

"Prepare my carriage." Arno ordered a nearby initiate. "I have a real mission for the first time in decades…"

—

Harper had selected five to serve under her:

Lynx, of course,

Wilhelm (with much protest)

Alexander as the carriage driver,

Wolfe, and initiate from the Berlin brotherhood,

And Omar, an initiate from Ghana.

The group of six, now having thrown off Arno, were leaving to kill Hikaru.

Who was in hiding. They'd have to find her first.

—

They arrived in Paris. "So… What now?" Someone asked.

Truth was, she wasn't sure. Arno would've told her what to do.

 _Screw Arno._

"Arno took you in and trained you." She muttered to herself.

She got everyone off and into a line to address them. She started nervously pacing.

"Arno always spoke of how everything revealed itself in time. One clue led to another, and then another. Eventually he reached a Templar."

She stopped pacing and stood facing them. "We have no clues. So… We're going to ah…"

"Interrogate Templars?" Wilhelm suggested.

Wolfe's gaze slowly drifted to Lynx.

"What about you?"

"I- I uh, think we should do what the um… Guy in the blue said."

"We know you're an ex-Templar." Wolfe said casually.

Omar gasped and Wilhelm put a hand on his weapon, pulling Wolfe back. Alexander gulped.

"Are you telling me none of you saw the tan robes when Harold and Reginald were killed?"

"Well, there goes your little charade." Harper said to Lynx.

Wolfe straightened out his blue and white robes. "Surely an ex-Templar would know where a Templar is hiding, no?"

"I know where she was, but they probably moved her since I killed Henri."

He met eyes with Harper. "She's very powerful. Can't we just go with DeFalco? We know where he is and"-

"No. I'm in charge here. We're killing Hikaru."

Lynx dared to walk forward. "What do you have to prove, Harper? Why can't you accept my help? Arno's help?"

The other four backed away a bit. Lynx narrowed his eyes and joined them. "Hikaru lived in an apartment by the river. I'll take you there."

The five fell in line behind him. Harper was last. Just like that, he'd taken her leadership.

She noticed he was limping a bit. Leaning on Omar and Alexander.

He'd taken four shots.

She knew they hadn't healed completely.

There always was the possibility he was a double agent. Or in this case, a triple agent?

Either way, she could fight him injured.

—

Arno's normal way of getting in was blocked by an overturned cart.

"Damn…"

He did know of another way in, but it would require he kill most of the guards.

DeFalco would most likely be surrounded by guards somewhere at the top, probably the roof.

Arno went back to the heavily guarded main entrance, glad he packed so many smoke bombs. There were two drawbridges. Arno could smoke one and go, but the other one would pursue him.

A cherry bomb would make very little noise against the crowd. And where would he lure them, anyway?

He finally settled on his berserk blade. There was a heavy spear man pacing along the two entrances. He could see him inside.

Arno climbed the roof of a nearby building. He took out a vial of red poison, dipping the blade projectile in it.

The man came into view.

He fired.

—

Lynx had guided the group to a run-down apartment building overlooking the river that divided Paris. He used Eagle Vision. He was a bit rusty, but he could see Hikaru. She was on the top floor.

"There"-

"Two guards at the door. Sniper on the roof." Harper interrupted him. "Wolfe will get the sniper. Omar, I want you hanging underneath her window. Alexander, get on the balcony. The rest, on me."

Lynx gave a low growl. He was trying to show her he could be trusted, he really was an Assassin, but she wouldn't let him prove himself. "Harper, I think it's a good idea if you put me-"

"I said move, Lynx!"

This was outrageous… But he followed her anyway.

All he had was a small knife to fight with. He limped up the stairs. If she ordered them to attack, Wilhelm would have to work double time to compensate for his injuries.

They walked up several flights of stairs. At one point, Lynx saw Omar's black and green robes flash in front of a window for a split second.

They neared her closed door, the last one on a hallway. The two guards locked spears.

Harper didn't flinch. "Wilhelm, Lynx, deal with them."

Wilhelm drew a heavy sword and charged. He had the man practically pinned to the wall.

Lynx unsheathed his knife and dashed towards one, his leg feeling like it was being stabbed over and over.

He jumped awkwardly on one leg, crashing into the man and sending him into the wall. He stabbed him with his knife again and again. What a half-assed plan.

—

Arno and DeFalco circled each other. DeFalco knew Arno was too powerful for him, and Arno knew sooner or later he would go for his gun.

Arno dashed in and they clashed wildly, sparks flying.

DeFalco pushed him off, using his advantage of strength. He reached to his back for a pistol.

Arno ran in once more, knocking the pistol out of his hand and running him through. DeFalco clutched the rapidly bleeding hole in his chest, falling to his knees. Arno realized something was wrong. This man, now that he got a good look at him, didn't have the scar on his chest. He didn't have one on his eye running under the eyepatch either.

Instead, there were pinkish stains on the areas.

They ran like ink.

They were colored ink. Arno turned around to see the real DeFalco, aiming a pistol.

"I've been waiting so long to do this…"

Arno jumped just as he fired. The bullet got him in the side, but over decades being an assassin, his pain tolerance was so high it didn't faze him.

The moat was under him. Arno rolled onto his back, hoping it was deep enough in this area.

He braced for impact, robes flowing in front of him…

There was a huge splash, and Arno thanked God he was still in one piece.

DeFalco would have to wait. He had to draw them away from Harper.

—

Harper kicked in the door, leaving Wilhelm and Lynx to deal with the guards. Part of her wanted Lynx to die. Everything happened so fast... She wasn't sure of his allegiance.

Hikaru already had kunai drawn, ropes on the ends of them. She threw one at Harper, the rope trailing behind it. It was coiled around a gauntlet of metal.

Harper avoided it but to her surprise, it curved around her, then coiled again, pinning her arms. The kunai was more a weight than a weapon, and even without Hikaru constricting her, she was pinned.

The kunai finally jerked her over and stuck in the wall, pinning her to the wall, arms bound, defenseless. "You really thought it would be this easy?"

Another wave came to fight Wilhelm and Lynx. They couldn't help her now. Her plan involved stealth killing Hikaru, not head on combat. If she could get her in a certain area…

"I have backup right here, in this room."

"No you don't! Foolish child!"

"Yes, I do. They're pointing guns at you as we speak. In that closet. Under the bed."

Hikaru aimed a gun at her. She walked over to the bed, just to be sure. _No, go to the closet!_

Hikaru looked under and laughed. "You have nothing!"

She then walked to the closet. Better safe than sorry. But she wouldn't be safe once she was adjacent to the balcony…

Alexander kicked in the door, aiming a gun. "I shall kill you!"

Hikaru backed up instinctively to the window, where Omar's black and green robes were showing…

A hand crashed through the window, in it, a sword. The sword impaled Hikaru, and she cried out in pain. Omar pushed her down and climbed through the window, dusting himself off.

Wolfe followed him, then drew his mace and sawed the ropes off Harper with the sharp parts.

Wilhelm and Lynx managed to hold off the waves of enemies.

"A job well done, team."

Harper's first mission as leader had been a success.

—

Arno's carriage bumped along the trail to St. Denis. With luck, he would meet Harper along the way and turn her around.

Suddenly, a horse came out through the fog and stopped by him.

Its rider was one of the initiates.

"Harper instructed me to give this to you at 7 am." It was a letter.

 _Dear Arno,_

 _If you're reading this, you just killed DeFalco. That means another Templar dead. Unfortunately, you did it for no reason._

 _Our real target was Hikaru. I needed to throw you off track so I could kill her with my own team. Without your help._

 _You don't believe me when I tell you I'm ready. I'm your equal. Hopefully, I've killed 2 Templars. That proves you can trust me_

 _more than anything else._

 _Harper_

 _P.S, that meeting between me and Lynx?_

 _It was for your safety._

 _When you think about this on a grand scale it was all your fault._

Arno didn't know what to do. His apprentice was running a rebellious streak.

And if he didn't stop her soon…

—

 **Hi.**

 **I'd like to thank TheProficientPenman for his critique!**

 **I'll try to develop more voices for each character,**

 **And make more little things happen.**

 **Promise I won't make Arno talk like a cliché Frenchman, though :)**

 **Cheers,**

 **TorrentOfIrony**


	10. Authors Note 2

Hi.

I've been at summer camp, that's why I haven't been posting.

My dog got sick and now I'm sick and have migraines.

Really sorry,

TorrentOfIrony


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